For many years, colorful markers have enabled children to use their imaginations to draw pictures of their own artistic creation. One of the challenges associated with markers is that they unintentionally create stains on many different kinds of surfaces, including clothing, furniture, floors, and walls. Some of the “washable” inks currently on the market use a combination of polymeric colorants and dye blockers to impart fabric washability to water-based marker inks. However, there remains a need for cost-efficient ink compositions that can be more easily washed or rinsed from fabric and other surfaces, while providing excellent color vibrancy and avoiding the common problem of easily “bleeding through” paper substrates.